Fruit and vegetable press



Jan. 9, 1934. R" STQRCO 1,943,550

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PRESS Filed Oct. 11, 1932 Zoo 5 p a) e ys Patented Jan. 9, 1934 NETED 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in mills and particularly to mills adapted for crushing and squeezing fruit, vegetables and other matter, for the purpose of extracting the juice therefrom and separating the pulp from the seeds and skins.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a mill of the character set forth which is simple and rugged in construction and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mill of the character set forth, certain parts of which are removable to permit cleaning of the inerior of the mill for subsequent crushing or grinding.

A more specific object of the invent'on is to provide a mill of the character set forth having a removably disposed screen or colander-like body for the purpose of more easily keeping the parts clean and in a sanitary state, after use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mill of the character described having a trap at the upper rear side which may be opened and a trough operatively connected thereto for the purpose of discharging the unusable portions of the fruit and vegetables from the mill after the juice has been extracted therefrom.

Other objects of the present invention are set forth hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view in vertical section through the mill forming the subject of the present application; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the refuse discharge trough associated with the discharge trap in the mill.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates a base having an inclined upper surface to facilitate easy, rapid flow of the fruit or vegetable juice outwardly of the mill. Side and end walls 2 and 3 respectively, are secured to the base 1 in such a manner that the said base 1 extends beyond one of the end wall members 3 as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. This same end wall 3 is provided with an opening 4 therein to permit flow of the juice and pulp extracted from the fruit and vegetables from the interior of the mill and suitable guide walls 5 extend from adjacent each side of the opening 4 of the end wall 3 to the extended end of the base 1. A bolt 6 extends vertically upward from the upper face of the end wall members 3, the said bolt being centrally located with respect to the face area thereof, the purpose for which will be set forth hereinafter.

A substantially semi-circular strainer or colantier-like member 7 having apertures 8 therein is supported in the portion of the mill bounded by the side and end wall members 2 and 3 respectively, by means of a supporting frame 3, which is of a configuration, such as to conform to the upper faces of said side and end walls 2 and 3, the said frame 9 beng provided with holes 10 therein arran ed to loosely receive the upstanding bolts 6 to correctly position said frame with respect to the lower supporting structure of the mill.

An upper cover or housing 11 is arranged to reside on the upper face of the frame 9, the lower base portion of said cover is provided with apertures 12 arranged to receive the previously described bolts 6, the said bolts 6 projecting above the base portion to permit wing nuts 13 or other retaining means to be threaded thereon and se cure the respective parts of the mill in operative relation.

One half of a split bearing surface is formed in the upper face of each side member of the strainer frame 9 and a complementary bearing surface is formed in the lower abutting face of the top or cover member 11 at each side of the mill. A shaft 14 is removably mounted for rotation in the bearings just described and diametrically opposed crushing or grinding elements 15 are mounted for rotation with said shaft.

The upper face of the top of the cover member 11 is provided with an opening 16 into which is secured a substantially V-shaped hopper 17 arranged to receive a quantity of fruit or vegetables to be ground, the said fruit and vegetables passing downward by means of gravity through the opening in the cover 11 into the interior of the mill where they are engaged by the crushing elements 15 and summarily macerated.

An opening 18 is formed in the rear face of the cover 11 and is provided with a closure member 19 which is hinged to the mill as at 20, the said opening 18 in the cover member 11 being arranged to receive a chute 21 comprising bottom and side members 22 and 23 respectively. It should be noted that the opening 18 is formed at an angle with respect to the cover 11 and firmly abuts the corresponding surfaces of the discharge trough when in position, effecting a substantially wedge-like engagement to prevent too great entrance of the trough inwardly of the cover member 11 of the mill. Suitable hook and eye members 24 and 25 respectively are provided on the outer surface of each side 23 of the trough and the side faces of the cover member 11 for securing the trough 21 in position.

One feature of the invention resides in the novel construction of the present millin such a manner that all of the component parts thereof may be readily taken apart for cleaning purposes, and a particular feature resides in the removability of the rotatable crushing element, rendering comparatively easy access to the inner surface of the strainer 7. The discharge trough inserted in the opening 18 is provided for the purpose of facilitating removal of the undesirable portions of the fruit and vegetables after the juice has been extracted therefrom. It is pointed out, however, that during the actual crushing operation, the discharge trough 21 is removed from the mill and the door 19 moved into position, closing said port.

In the present instance the hopper 17 is provided with a closure or cover member 24, arranged to reside in superimposed relation with respect to said hopper, the said cover 24 having a depending member 25, to the lower extremity of which is secured a stopper or closure 26 for the purpose of preventing the juice pulp or other portions of the fruit or vegetables being ground from splashing or being forced outwardly from the grinding chamber through the hopper 17.

In the operation of the mill and with the port 18 closed by the door 19, the fruit and vegetables are inserted in the hopper 17 and pass downwardly through the opening 16 into the interior of the mill. The shaft 14 and crushing members 15 are then rotated in a direction counter-clockwise with respect to Fig. 1 of the drawing, resultin the maceration of the fruit and vegetables, causing juice and pulp to be squeezed therefrom and pass through the apertures 8 of the screen 7 to the outwardly sloping upper siuface of the base 1.

After the grinding operation and when it is desired to remove the unused skin, seeds and other material from the mill, the crusher members 15 and shaft 14 are rotated in the opposite direction, that is, clockwise with respect to Fig. l of the drawing and the said members 15 operate to carry the material remaining in the mill to the port '18 in the cover 11 where it may easily be removed.

While the particular embodiment of the present invention has been set forth for the purpose of description, it is not intended that the structure be limited to that described except such as is without the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a mill the combination with a box-like structure including a discharge trough, of a frame removably superimposed on said box, a foraminous screen mounted on the frame and depending into the box, a cover removably superimposed on said frame, a split bearing in each side of the mill, one half being formed in the upper face of each side of the frame and the other half in the abutting face of the cover, a shaft rotatably residing in said bearing and removable therefrom when the cover is removed, diametrically opposed crushing members rigidly mounted on the shaft and arranged to rotate adjacent the upper surface of the screen, a Waste trap in the cover at the opposite end of the mill from the discharge trough, said trap being arranged to receive a trough for the removal of the unused portions of fruit and vegetables after grinding and the shaft is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of the shaft during grinding, and a bolt releasably engaging the trough, frame and cover securing the various parts of the machine in operative relation.

RAFFAELE STOICO. 

